This past weekend featured a little bit of everything for fantasy managers – breakout performances from surprise candidates, disappointing efforts from several big-name studs (hopefully you avoided those), several kickers who went nuclear, rookies who continued to put together epic seasons, and a smattering of unfortunate injuries that will shake up lineups for championship week.

• Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

8 Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 16

Running backs returned with a vengeance following a quiet Week 15-an astounding nine players broke 100 yards, and five players scored multiple rushing touchdowns. Thankfully, these outstanding efforts came from superstars prevalent in most playoff teams (Bijan Robinson, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, De’Von Achane) rather than out-of-the-blue candidates with low rosters.

Of the fifteen games that have already concluded, only three failed to reach the 40-point mark, and eight matchups totaled more than 50 points. We hope you had some luck with a roster filled with players who came through in your semi-finals and avoided the duds when possible.

Here is a quick rundown of players that caught my eye in Week 16 for both good and bad performances:

Quarterback

STUD: Jayden Daniels (QB – WAS) – If there was any competition between Daniels and Bo Nix for Offensive Rookie of the Year a few weeks ago, consider that matter settled. Entering the week with a difficult matchup against NFC East rival Philadelphia, managers were primarily hoping that Daniels would be able to reach his projections and perhaps provide them with enough rushing yards to make up for any diminished passing totals due to stiff competition from a strong secondary. Instead, Daniels came through with his best outing of the season, completing 24-of-39 pass attempts for 258 yards and five touchdown passes, adding another 81 yards on the ground with scrambles. With this epic performance, Daniels currently sits as the QB5 on the season and has surpassed all expectations that even the most optimistic managers could have. Now fully recovered from the rib injury that caused him to play more passively from Weeks 10-13, Daniels’s dual-threat abilities make him near-impossible to stop. Washington will square off Sunday evening in a fantastic showdown with Atlanta, and both teams are currently contending for the final few playoff spots in the conference. If the Commanders make it a priority to add several weapons in the offseason, there is a chance that Daniels could challenge Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson next season for the best fantasy player at the position.

DUD: Josh Allen (QB – BUF) – It feels odd to discuss Allen as a dud, given that he single-handedly carried teams into the fantasy playoffs in most formats over the last two weeks. That said, his mediocre totals against New England in Week 16 fell far short of expectations, and most analysts were predicting a stronger outing from this MVP candidate. Allen completed just 16 passes for 154 yards on the afternoon, with one touchdown and one interception. Furthermore, he failed to make an impact in the running game, with just 30 yards on six attempts and no touchdowns. His longest completion on the afternoon was just 17 yards, and to make matters even worse, he injured his throwing hand on a scramble attempt in the third quarter. Allen is a warrior who has played through a broken left hand for most of the season, but mounting injuries cause concern. Buffalo hosts the New York Jets in Week 17, and Gang Green currently surrenders the fifth-fewest passing yards per week (just 188). This matchup will likely feature Buffalo’s three-headed running back tandem to start momentum on each drive.

Wide Receiver

STUD: Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) – Jefferson picked a fantastic time for his biggest game of the season, catching 10 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 victory over Seattle. His multi-touchdown performance has him sitting with 10 on the season, matching his career-high set in 2021. With two games remaining on Minnesota’s schedule against NFC North rivals Green Bay and Detroit, Jefferson is on pace to finish with more than 100 receptions and 1,500 receiving yards for the third time in the past four seasons. The clear focal point of the offense and leader of a fantastic one-two punch with Jordan Addison at wideout, quarterback Sam Darnold has demonstrated confidence to target Jefferson all over the field, no matter how much defensive attention is paid to him. Following a brief statistical lull in weeks 10-12, Jefferson had sprung to life when it mattered most and currently sits as the WR2 on the season behind Ja’Marr Chase. In the fantasy championship matchup against Green Bay next week, Jefferson will look to duplicate (or better) his totals from Week 4 when the Vikings were in Lambeau Field, a 6/85/1 split.

DUD: Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR) – It pains me to feature a player in the “dud” category in consecutive weeks, but of all wideouts who were projected for more than 15 points in a PPR format, Kupp was the biggest standout. Frigid temperatures in the Meadowlands played a key factor in the Ram’s decision to shift toward a run-heavy approach to move the offense, with the team attempting just 19 pass attempts all afternoon. Of Matthew Stafford‘s 14 completions, just three went to Kupp, and he failed to find the end zone for the third time in the last four games. Following a string of solid outings from Weeks 8-12, Kupp has been a non-factor for fantasy purposes since, and his 2024 season will undoubtedly go down as a disappointment for managers, with the 31-year-old wideout continuing to struggle through injuries and inconsistent totals. The clear-cut second fiddle to Puka Nacua in the passing game, one has to wonder where Kupp will be ranked next season and if he has anything left in the tank at this point in his career.

Running Back

STUD: Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND) – Was there any doubt that Taylor wouldn’t be featured here following his insane performance against Tennessee? One week after Taylor committed a boneheaded play at the goal line by dropping the ball early in celebration, ball security and proving a point was paramount on his mind. Taylor finished with a season-high 29 rushing attempts for 218 yards and three touchdowns, including multiple carries of more than 65 yards. The Titan’s defense was a total sieve all afternoon and failed to make any adjustments to stop Taylor, with Indianapolis attempting just 11 passes all game. Tennessee had a comical number of whiffs, bad angles, and lackluster effort against Taylor, and the results spoke for themselves. After a strong start to the 2024 season, Taylor has been relatively quiet since Week 9 prior to this outing, and one has to wonder how many rosters deep in the playoffs still had him on their teams. If you’re one of the lucky managers where this wasn’t too little, too late, Taylor has a juicy matchup in Week 17 against the New York Giants, a team currently surrendering the second most rushing yards per game.

DUD: Joe Mixon (RB – HOU) – It was assumed that fantasy managers would need to taper their expectations for Mixon in Week 16 against Kansas City, a defense that prides itself on stopping the run and forcing opposing offenses to become one-dimensional. That indeed came to fruition. Mixon could not find any holes to run through and (even worse) was a non-factor in the passing game, totaling just 71 yards on the afternoon and 15 touches. Mixon’s poor showing was the third time in the last four games that he failed to find the end zone, and his diminished usage is noticeable. Houston’s offense has grown increasingly reliant upon the pass since the return of Nico Collins, and we’d expect that trend to continue against Baltimore in Week 17. The Ravens currently allow the fewest rushing yards per game in the entire league (just 83), and given how prolific their offense is, it will likely force Houston to get into a shootout to maintain pace. Even more concerning is the short turnaround for the Texans, who face a rapid turnaround with their game on Wednesday for Christmas Day. These factors lead us to cautiously rank Mixon as a high-end RB2 for championship week. Fingers crossed, he can finish the season with a bang.

Tight End

STUD: Brock Bowers (TE – LV) – It is Brock Bowers‘s world; we are just living in it. The Raiders rookie sensation continued to pile up the statistics this past Sunday, catching 11 passes on 13 targets for 99 yards in a victory over Jacksonville. Bowers is the lone bright spot on a dismal Las Vegas team that has struggled to find any production in the passing game all season. Bowers and wideout Jakobi Meyers are the only players on the team with more than 43 receptions this entire season, and Bowers leads the Raiders with just four touchdown receptions. One would think that defenses would make it a point to triple-cover the rookie all game long, given that the entire offense flows through him, but his talent and soft hands have proven challenging to stop repeatedly. Even with poor play under center, Bowers has thrived and will be ranked as a top-5 option next season. Should Las Vegas spend their first-round selection on a quarterback, his ceiling is even higher.

DUD: Trey McBride (TE – ARI) – In a game that finished with 66 points and took most of the overtime to conclude, one would think McBride would have played a significant role. Not so much. Bottled up all afternoon by Carolina, the Panthers made it a point to remove McBride from the passing equation early and often. In the rare instance when he wasn’t blanketed by coverage, quarterback Kyler Murray could not find him and chose to spread the ball around to alternative options instead. McBride’s three receptions for just 20 yards was his worst statistical finish all season at a time when his fantasy managers were counting on him the most. A target magnet and a significant force in PPR formats all season at the position, McBride is still without a receiving touchdown despite catching 92 passes. He is hopefully in line for a bounce-back effort against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17 during championship week.